Roscrea racer Nicole faces major battle in Spain
A Spanish title decider for Roscrea’s Nicole this weekend
Roscrea racing driver Nicole Drought will travel to the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain this weekend for the season finale of the Spanish GTX AM Championship, with the famous Tipperary racer aiming to finish her maiden international GT campaign on a high by clinching the Championship on her debut season..
Driving the #75 Protech Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS alongside co-driver Lucas Fothergill, the past pupil of Coláiste Phobal in Roscrea has established herself as a strong contender in the highly competitive GTX AM category during her first season of Iberian Supercars competition.
The Jerez finale represents the culmination of a season that has seen Nicole, who is daughter of well known Roscrea mechnic and fellow racer Owain Drought, make an impressive transition onto the international GT racing stage.
Among the highlights was a superb double class victory at the famous Jarama circuit in June, where Drought and Fothergill combined front-running pace with consistent race management to take both GTX AM wins.
More recently, the pairing secured a double podium at Valencia, finishing second and third in class across the weekend's two races.
Those results provide valuable momentum heading into the final event of the season, where every qualifying lap, pit stop and race stint could prove decisive.
They currently lead the GTX AM Championship by just 11 points and they will race twice this weekend, once on Saturday and once on Sunday, with the championship being decided before Sunday evening.
The Circuito de Jerez, renowned for its technical layout and demanding corners, will present a fresh challenge for Nicole and the Protech Motorsport team.
With overtaking opportunities, tyre management and consistency likely to play important roles, the ‘Roscrea Rocket’ Nicole will be focused on delivering a clean and competitive weekend.
For Drought, the event is another opportunity to demonstrate the progress she has made throughout a demanding first season of European GT racing, competing against experienced international drivers at some of the continent's most iconic circuits.
Nicole said: “I'm really looking forward to heading to Jerez for the final round of the championship.
“It's been a fantastic experience stepping up to international GT racing this season, and we've made some really positive progress with the Porsche.
“The BOP (balance of power) has definitely not been in favour of the Porsche this year though, with the massive front ride height in particular, really hurting us through the tight stuff,” Nicole said.
“Winning both races at Jarama was a real highlight, and to come away from Valencia with two more podiums gave us a great boost heading into the finale.
“The competition in GTX AM is very strong, so we'll need to be on the pace from the first session and make the most of every opportunity.
“It's the last race weekend of the season, and the aim is to put together a strong performance, reward the hard work of everyone at Protech Motorsport and finish the year as well as we possibly can.
“It's yet another new track but I have been hard at work on the Simulator for the last number of weeks and am hoping to hit the ground running in testing on Friday morning," Nicole said ahead of the major weekend of racing.
The Jerez event will bring the Spanish 2026 campaign to a close, with Nicole looking to build on a season of race wins, podium finishes and valuable experience gained at the highest level of her GT racing career to date.
The Iberian series however, has one more round, at Estoril in Portugal in early December, with Nicole and Fothergill hoping to better their current position of third in that series.